In a bold move aimed at making the foundering automaker solvent until a government-backed loan agreement can be reached, sources have told Hemmings Motor News that General Motors will suspend all new car manufacturing and, using a revolutionary process it calls “rebadgeneering,” build its 2009 inventory entirely out of popular “preowned” automobiles.

Pictured above is a spy photo of a prototype mule reportedly called the “Chevy Volmonter,” outfitted with the optional “Peacenick” hood decor package, spotted at a discount department store near Hemmings HQ in Bennington, Vermont. An unnamed source close to the project said that this example is very close to the production version except that, “Before the cars hit showrooms we’ll fog some Krylon over the rust and fill in any of the bigger holes with Great Stuff. You know, so they’ll pass inspection.”

In fact, said source was carrying a bag of spray paint and spray foam insulation at the time of the interview.

While the move will certainly result in the loss of thousands of high-paying jobs, and billions of dollars in revenue worldwide, GM Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Rick Wagoner speculated that, “Congress should have one less lame excuse to throw at us when they see me, Nardelli and Mulally roll up to Capitol Hill in some college kid’s clapped out old Volvo with a Chevy emblem slapped in the grille.”

A UAW spokesperson refused to comment on the reported plan which one unnamed union official referred to as, “Complete and utter stupidity fabricated by somebody with too much time on his hands.”